Indicted General Sessions Court Clerk Otis Jackson plans to run for office again

Indicted General Sessions Court Clerk Otis Jackson filed a petition Tuesday signaling his intent to run for a second term in office.

“Well, I feel I’ll be vindicated (of) all these charges,” Jackson said. “Not only that, but the people of Shelby County voted me into this position. I feel like I am the clerk and I’m running again.”

Shelby County Commissioner Sidney Chism has filed a petition to run against Jackson, a move Jackson said shocked him.

Jackson, a Democrat first elected in 2008, was charged with four counts of official misconduct by a grand jury in July for allegedly coercing his staff to give and collect money for his 2012 re-election campaign.

Several weeks later, the judges of General Sessions suspended Jackson with pay and named a temporary clerk to fill his duties. Jackson has challenged the suspension in Chancery Court.